Narrative

Graphium lysithous group text is based on the older Rothschild and Jordan revision of the New World Papilionidae. Changes based on the DAlmeida listing have been noted. Also included are some changes based on various articles. These changes have been noted to comply with the taxonomy as published in 2004 by Gerardo Lamas in his checklist of Neotropical Lepidoptera. The Rothschild and Jordan text as modified by DAlmeida has been retained because for many years it was the only good source of information on this group. Many serious Neotropical Papilionidae collections in the world are based on the Rothschild and Jordan organization.

New World Graphium group of Kite Swallowtails is usually divided into several major groups. The breakdown here is according to Rothschild and Jordan.

Graphium lysithous group contains many species that mimic various Parides. However, in this group the red spots are always located on the base of the wings and not the body. In the Parides genus, the red spots are located on the body.

The twenty species of the Graphium lysithous group are as follows (an * indicates that this species is pictured):

SPECIES - - - - - LOCATION
Graphium pausanus* - Costa Rica to Bolivia
Graphium microdamas* - Paraguay and Argentina
Graphium protodamas* - Southeast Brazil
Graphium phaon* - E. Mexico to Ecuador & Venez.
Graphium euryleon* - Costa Rica to Ecuador
Graphium hipparchus - Cauca Valley, Colombia
Graphium illuminatus - South Colombia
Graphium harmodius* - Colombia to Bolivia
Graphium trapeza* - East Ecuador
Graphium xynias* - Bolivia and Peru
Graphium ariarethes* - Colombia to Bolivia and East
Graphium ilus - North Venezuela to Panama
Graphium branchus* - Mexico to Costa Rica
Graphium belesis* - Mexico to Nicaragua
Graphium thymbraeus* - Mostly Mexico
Graphium lysithous* - Paraguay and Southeast Brazil
Graphium (lysithous)rurik* - Santa Catarina, Brazil
Graphium (lysithous)eupatorion - East Brazil
Graphium (lysithous)harrisianus - East Brazil
Graphium asius* - Brazil and Paraguay

Gerardo Lamas in his 2004 checklist of Neotropical Lepidoptera moved Graphium hardmodius into Graphium xeniades. He moved Graphium trapeza to a subspecies of Graphium xynias. He also moved Graphium illuminatus to a subspecies of G. ariarathes.

Graphium hipparchus was placed as a subspecies of Graphium phaon and called Papilio phaon ssp therodamas.

Lamas also moved Graphium branchus to a subspecies of Graphium ilus; removed Graphium belesis as a species, and placed it as a synonym of Graphium branchus which he moved to a subspecies of Graphium ilus.

He also moved the valid species, Graphium asius, to the Graphium marcellus group.

He changed the genus of the above group to Mimoides.

In summary, Lamas reduces this group to only 11 species:

G. ariarathes, G. euryleon, G. ilus, G. lysithous, G. microdamas, G. pausanias, G. phaon, G. protodamas, G. thymbraeus, G. xeniades, and G. xynias.

Taxonomy

References